I first heard about Patreon from a fellow UWSP Alum last Spring. At first my thoughts were skeptical. I wasn't sure if my art would be a good fit. Or that it would feel like selling out. Or that I would bust and no one would be interested in pledging to my campaign.
These thoughts still go through my head. However, I decided who cares. Why not try it because who know what it might lead to. If there's one thing I've learned in sharing my art its that rarely do I understand the effect my ideas will have before I try them. When things work out sometimes it goes as planned and other times I'm surprised.
To be honest, I still don't know a ton about how best to use Patreon and set up my page for success. When I first set everything up I waited a few weeks and then I saw an interest! Someone I went through many years of school with pledged to support me! I was shocked! Here was a person who occasionally I kept in touch with after High School and I never expected to go out of their way to help me out. Since then I've learned a few things.
One is that people will surprise you. You can't expect to know what the outcome will be before it starts. And definitely don't talk yourself out of trying something new!
Second is that people love to help. I think many of us also like to choose to help. Forcing or guilting someone into helping you is ineffective. Plus it would make me feel much happier knowing someone decided on their own for whatever reason that I was worth supporting.
Third is that providing unique content will always be important. This one has taken a looong time for me to grasp. For many years I thought that being able to do what someone else could was what impressed people. Today I think its safe to say that I'm trying to be conscious of creating work that speaks to me first and that I believe in.
Patreon in my opinion is a terrific idea. There have been many occasions over the past few years where I've met people who at the time couldn't afford to collect original art that I was making. Even though they absolutely loved it! What's interesting is that of course making money to survive is important to me. And if I can do that making artwork that great! But I also understand the rest of the world is full of people who are also working to survive. I sure as heck know there's no way I can afford artwork I love by other artists.
The unique lesson I learned through thinking about this is that we also love to support the people and support the cause, even if the product is not affordable.
Through Patreon I want to create organized opportunities for more people to support funding the creation of new art. Because asking for money in exchange for nothing is not on my agenda, Patreon seemed perfect. This way I'm able to still offer various services I can afford to those who want to pledge. Also I'm the kind of person who likes to have options which Patreon allows!
For more info on ways you can pledge to my account follow the link below. Thank you for reading and please don't hesitate to ask any questions!
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3227563